1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, an image processing method, and a program. More particularly, the present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, an image processing method, and a program favorable for use in analyzing a tissue image obtained from an organism by tomography, and identifying the locations of various parts, such as the brain, liver, intestines, and bone, in the tissue image.
2. Description of the Related Art
Several technologies exist for acquiring an internal image of an object without incision, such as X-ray CT (Computed Tomography), MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging), and FMRI (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging). Such technologies are particularly used in medical fields to sectionally image a person (i.e., a patient), and then identify pathological foci from the sectional images (i.e., tomographs) obtained as a result.
Initially, a doctor or other person would use his or her experience as a basis for identifying which locations in a tissue image or other tomograph belong to particular tissues (such as the brain, liver, intestines, and bone). A method for automating identification also exists, wherein tissue outlines and textures (i.e., patterns in the image) are registered in advance, and compared against a tissue image of an identification target. (See, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-8419.)